Within the past few weeks, both the city of Philadelphia and the state of New Jersey passed legislation mandating that retail establishments not refuse to accept payment in the form of cash. Opponents of cashless stores contend that enough people do not have credit cards or bank accounts to justify the legislation as a means…
Read More »Although many in the business community saw the “Grand Bargain” (the name given to a legislative/gubernatorial deal to raise wages and mandate paid leave in Massachusetts) as troublesome, but palatable, it appears that the regulations to implement the law could be ‘the straw that breaks the camel’s back’! At the first of seven planned public…
Read More »After battling all through last year over the issue, democrat NJ Governor Phil Murphy agreed with the democratic-controlled legislature on a bill that will lead to a state minimum wage of $15 per hour as soon as 2024. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, who has not always seen eye to eye with Murphy, finally brokered the…
Read More »For those who thought the idea of the so-called Millionaire Tax had run its course, think again. You will recall that Massachusetts advocates had teed up a ballot question for last November’s ballot that would have allowed the Bay State to apply a 4% surcharge to incomes over $1 million. The Massachusetts Supreme Court ultimately…
Read More »We’ve been advised by our employment counsel, Morgan Brown & Joy of an apparent glitch in Massachusetts’ legislation signed into law back in the summer. The law, known as the “Grand Bargain” for reasons that elude me, included a 5-year gradual elimination of mandatory premium pay for work on Sundays and holidays in exchange for…
Read More »They haven’t completely gone after straws yet, but the push to ban single use plastic bags kicks into high gear in Boston this week with the city plastic bag ban becoming effective one week from today, on December 14. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh signed the measure back in December of last year after the city…
Read More »Not unlike the waves from minimum wage battles, consideration of so-called Fair Workweek legislation is also spreading across the nation. Fair workweek laws generally provide that employers provide workers with a minimum (usually 10 – 14 days) period of notice of their work schedule and any deviation from that schedule requires an additional “predictability payment”…
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When it comes to customer loyalty, Dunkin’ may just have an edge on its closest rival Cultivating satisfied, loyal customers has always been an important factor to the success of any business, but since social media has enabled rapid-fire opinion sharing, happy customers are more important today than ever. According to a 2016 Forrester Research…
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For Deo Braga, coming to America meant a fast track to opportunity. As a teenager in the Azores, Braga yearned for more. While attending college and working with his father, Manuel Furtado Braga, he ran a local bar and grocery store the family owned. His uncle, Barry Furtado, was already living in America and running…
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Many franchisors utilize so-called “no-poach” clauses in their franchise agreements, and such clauses may be structured in a way that limits a franchisee’s ability to hire employees of other, same-brand franchisees and/or employees of the franchisor. Recently, a group of state attorneys general and prominent legislators began pressing franchisors to cease use of so-called “no-poach”…
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